I wrote this in response to an editorial from the Honolulu Star advertiser.
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/01/27/editorial/our-view/editorial-close-loopholes-in-isles-gun-laws/?HSA=e49de945469fcdbaddbb4b1c75de1b666ed39681Gun control laws in the islands routinely rank among the toughest in the nation. Yet here we are in another legislative session, and Hawaii's law makes think we need more. Regardless of the fact that we have more guns than people, but with that, we also have the lowest rate of homicide with firearms.
This year they have gone looking for loopholes that they believe make Hawaii unsafe but yet present little to no evidence of it doing so.
>>House bill 1600 would repeal a provision in state law that allows rifles and shotguns to be loaned to another person who is not prohibited by state or federal law.
This provision was put into the law to allow people to loan firearms to relatives and out of state visitors for hunting and other legal activities. This law also allows a person to remove firearms from their home and leave them with a friend or family member during an emergency such as a fire or natural disaster.
Another group that will be affected is the boyscouts, who often rely on loaned firearms for shooting events.
We have yet to find any evidence of a person with a firearm that they legally acquired through this loaning "loophole" that has later gone on to commit a crime with the firearm.
>>House Bill 1736 would limit the possession of so-called "High Capacity" magazines for rifles to law enforcement use only. Currently, the law prohibits magazines or more than ten rounds in pistols.
Anti-gun groups around that nation like to say that reduced capacity magazines would save lives in a mass shooting, what they fail to mention is they would cost lives in self-defense.
The reason police officers are exempt in these laws is that they may face situations where there are multiple attackers. These situations don't occur in police stations, but in people's homes, businesses, and public places, where a law-abiding armed citizen would have to deal with the same situation. Running out of ammo in the middle of a threatening life situation is not something a police officer wants to do, nor does the average person.
Another thing that's often overlooked with the Second Amendment is the militia; you know the well-regulated part. Well regulated at the time of writing meant functioning or working correctly, For example, a clock that ran on time would be known as a well-regulated clock. Part of being well regulated would be making sure one is well equipped.
Hawaii Revised State 121-1 (4) contains the definition of "The unorganized militia."
"The unorganized militia shall consist of those members of the militia who are not members of the national guard, the naval militia, or the state defense force. " (A)
The State of Hawaii is ill-equipped to deal with a natural disaster, let alone deal with a national emergency or one where the militia would need to be activated. It doesn't even have a "state defense force," as mentioned in the same statue. Having the people themselves be armed with suitable equipment (including magazines of a suitable size) would allow the state to quickly and easily muster a force for defense or offense if ever needed.
>> House bill 1734 requires a separate application for a permit of each rifle or shotgun purchase. This is yet another so-called loophole that was intentionally put into the law. It wasn't by mistake and is plainly written.
In 2018, the state law enforcement agencies processed a total of 18,070 firearms permit applications and registered a total of 43,033 firearms. If they were required to process a permit application for each permit, they would be required to do twice as much work. Honolulu police department already spends $1.2million a year in its firearms department and can barely keep up with demand. Other departments are in a similar situation where people end up being sent away and tell to come back another day.
In 2016 Hawaii passed a law the put firearms owners into a federal database known as rap back. This database acts as a continuous background search. This means if anyone commits a crime, the state gets notified and can use that information to remove a person's firearms. Now with such a system in place, a background check for each firearm is made redundant.
With a background check that never stops and consent to check their medical history whenever they need, the police departments have everything they need to checkup on gun owners whenever they feel the need. In fact, once you've done one background check, You shouldn't have to do one ever again.
Could the intent of the law be to make people have to take multiple days off work and make it so cost-prohibitive that people just don't want to go through the process? Hawaii Firearms Coalition thinks so. That's why HIFICO director Todd Yukutake filed a federal lawsuit challenging the permitting process. (B)
>>House Bill 1733 aims to ban home-built firearms, known as "Ghost guns" Firearms that are manufactured by a person for their own personal use.
The common misconception with "Ghost guns" is that you just order them online and assemble them like lego, When in fact, the reality is it's more like ice carving. You buy your block of ice and using special tools, and you start to cut away the ice until you are left with a work of art.
"Ghost guns" aren't new, and if it weren't for the fact that a manufacturing company filed a lawsuit against the Department of State,(C) you probably wouldn't be hearing about them now. They are the new Teflon coated bullet. Something that somebody read about on the internet or seen in a movie and started yelling the sky is falling.
The ability to manufacture a firearm for ones own personal use must be at the heart of the Second Amendment. The fact that technology and materials have changed should have no bearing on that ability. To give the government the ability to prohibit the building of arms and, at the same time, the ability to control import would allow them to effectively cause the right to bear arms to cease to exist.
All firearms in the state are already required to be registered; all firearms are required to have a serial number to be registered. A person can avoid getting a permit by simply purchasing a firearm from out of state and bringing it back to Hawaii or even go to the effort of mailing it. Both of which are cheaper then making a "Ghost Gun", Something that, if not done correctly, could be catastrophic or even deadly to the user.
We have spoken to more than a dozen police officers past and present, and not one of them has ever come across a homemade firearm, let alone came across one in a crime. In fact, most firearms that they do come in contact with are stolen and have had the serial numbers removed, two things that are already illegal in Hawaii.
Hawaii state legislators have put together more than three dozen gun-related bills this session and while weighing the pros and cons lawmakers will ignore the fact that law-abiding gun owners are the only ones who follow gun laws, not one of these gun laws will stop a criminal obtaining a firearm and using it for ill intent.
Andrew Namiki Roberts
Director Hawaii Firearms Coaltion.
(A)https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrsarchive/hrs2000/Vol03_Ch121-200/hrs121/HRS_121-1.htm
(B)https://dockets.justia.com/docket/hawaii/hidce/1:2019cv00578/146729
(C)https://harvardlawreview.org/2017/04/defense-distributed-v-united-states-department-of-state/
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